


Blistering

by thesometimeswarrior



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, Family, Ficlet, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Pre-Canon, Pre-Series, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, ozai's a horrible father
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 17:06:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10995231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesometimeswarrior/pseuds/thesometimeswarrior
Summary: "Later, he willrageat Ozai. Later, he will sob, will indulge in guilt—I did thisandI never should have let him go into the war roomandI should have put myself between him and Ozai, andI could have stopped this. But now, his focus is singularly on Zuko, on getting to him; he has no mind to waste on his brother or on himself."Iroh, the moment after the Agni Kai.





	Blistering

He looks away but still sees the room light up, still hears the scream. 

And even then, Iroh cannot bring himself to look, still imagining the boy—Agni, he is a _boy_ , he is just a _boy_ , how could even Ozai do this to a _boy, his own boy_ —on fire. He’s seen men that he has never met before—enemies at war—burn, and has hardly been able to stomach _that._ And so the thought of _Zuko_ burning—it’s too much to bear.

He is a coward.

The screams turn into sobs for an instant, then stop abruptly. Only then can Iroh finally bring himself to look, and when he does, it is to see Zuko laying on the floor of the arena stage apparently passed out from the pain. But he is not still; he is twitching, moaning, even as he is unconscious on the floor…

And before Iroh fully knows what he is doing, he is out of his seat, running toward the center. He passes his smirking brother, who has literally turned his back on his son’s form and is walking away, but if Ozai says anything, Iroh doesn’t hear it.

Later, he will _rage_ at Ozai. Later, he will sob, will indulge in guilt— _I did this_ and _I never should have let him go into the war room_ and _I should have put myself between him and Ozai_ , and _I could have stopped this_. But for now, his focus is singularly on Zuko, on getting to him; he has no mind to waste on his brother or on himself.

Up close, he can see the raw, red skin, rapidly blistering in such a way that the blisters cover Zuko’s eye, and Iroh wonders if he will ever see out of it again. The rest of Zuko’s skin is pale and clammy, and when he gently grasps his nephew in his arms, Iroh can feel him trembling. 

The boy’s body is in shock.

“A medic,” Iroh croaks, and when no one reacts, he shouts louder, like the Dragon he is, like an indictment on these nobles—like him—who sit silently and let these things happen. “Someone summon a medic!”

In his periphery, he sees movement at the command. But his focus is only on Zuko, moaning in his arms.

“Shhhhh,” he says, rocking the body gently, careful to avoid touching the burn. “I am here, Prince Zuko. Shhhh. Everything will be alright.”

It’s not the first time Iroh has lied; to himself, he wonders how anything will ever be alright again.

He sits there, holding the boy, until the medics come to take him away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I love comments!


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